# Accident 20030218003399A: Airtrc AT502B, Holly Grove, AR, February 18, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 18, 2003, 07:30 local time
- Place: Holly Grove, AR
- Airport: Holly Grove Municipal Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff Ground Roll
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: HFGG
- Location: 34.5833° N, 91.1658° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.5833&lon=-91.1658&mi=10
- Aircraft: N61802, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N61802-2012-11-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-502B (registry code 0390307, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-502b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52034, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIRTRC AT502B
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 15,000 total, 1,500 in this make and model, 10 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW03LA098](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW03LA098) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030218003399A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON FEBRUARY 18, 2003, AT 0830 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, AN AIR TRACTOR AT-502B TURBINE POWERED AGRICULTURAL AIRPLANE, N61802, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED UPON COLLISION WITH A FENCE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO TAKEOFF FROM RUNWAY 15 AT THE HOLLY GROVE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (2A6), NEAR HOLLY GROVE, ARKANSAS. THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED COMMERCIAL PILOT, SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT, SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO PHILLIPS COUNTY FLYING SERVICE, INC., OF MARVELL, ARKANSAS, AND WAS BEING OPERATED BY HILL FLYING SERVICE, INC., OF HOLLY GROVE, ARKANSAS. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 137 FLIGHT FOR WHICH A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED. THE LOCAL AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT REPORTED TO THE FAA INSPECTOR, WHO RESPONDED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE, THAT THE SCHEDULED LOCAL AERIAL APPLICATION OF FERTILIZER WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT OF THE DAY. THE AIRPLANE WAS TOPPED OFF WITH FUEL AND THE HOPPER WAS ALSO FILLED WITH FERTILIZER. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE CONFIGURED THE AIRPLANE WITH FULL FLAPS FOR A FULL-LENGTH TAKEOFF FROM RUNWAY 15. DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL, THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH ATHRESHOLD LIGHT AND OVERRAN THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY, COLLIDING A FENCE POST SUPPORTING A 10-FOOT TALL FENCE LOCATED AT THE AIRPORT PERIMETER. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST IN THE INVESTED POSITION ENTANGLED IN THE FENCE. THERE WAS NO FIRE AND NO FUEL WAS SPILLED. THE HOPPER WAS NOT COMPROMISED. DETAILED EXAMINATION OF THE 1996 MODEL AIRPLANE BY THE FAA INSPECTOR REVEALED EXTENSIVE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO THE FUSELAGE AND BOTH WINGS. THE EMPENNAGE REMAINED CONNECTED TO THE FUSELAGE ONLY BY THE CONTROL CABLES. THE PROPELLER REMAINED ATTACHED TO THE ENGINE MOUNTS, AND THE ENGINE REMAINED ATTACHED TO THE AIRFRAME. THE LAST ANNUAL INSPECTION FOR THE AIRFRAME AND THE ENGINE WAS COMPLETED ON JANUARY 29, 2003, AT 3,071 AIRCRAFT HOURS, ABOUT 10 HOURS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. IN A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW, THE PILOT REPORTED TO THE NTSB INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE THAT THE ENGINE WAS PRODUCING FULL TAKEOFF POWER AT THE START OF HIS TAKEOFF ROLL; HOWEVER, HE SUSPECTED THAT THE ENGINE POWER HAD BEEN REDUCED DURING THE LATTER PART OF THE TAKEOFF ROLL, WHICH HE WAS NOT ABLE TO DETECT IN TIME TO ABORT THE FLIGHT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW03LA098](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW03LA098), Feb 18, 2003: Air Tractor AT-502B (N61802), Holly Grove, AR, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to abort the takeoff.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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